You’ve probably heard the expression, “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know”. This is often true when you’re looking for a job, and you can use it to your advantage. For example, many employers will ask their staff to ‘spread the word’ about a job vacancy. Or they might ask existing employers in the same field if they know of anyone who might be suitable. In fact, sometimes the job is not even advertised. This is the ‘hidden job market’ and it has all sorts of jobs if you’re prepared to go out and look.

So it’s important to talk to as many people as possible. See if they know of any businesses who are hiring staff in the career field you’re interested in. Ask your family, friends, your friends’ parents, sports coaches, your school career practitioner.

Here’s another expression you may have heard – the harder you try the luckier you’ll get. Here’s what you can try:

The Direct Approach

An effective way of looking for work is to make a direct approach to an employer. Even if you don’t know if there’s a job going or not it’s worth a try. You could drop into the business, fire off an email, or make a phone call and ask if any jobs are coming up. Even if there’s not a job available, it’s a good idea to email your résumé to any employer that you approach, and to keep in touch.

Try and be flexible

In Post COVID-19 times it may take longer to get your dream job. And that’s OK, just roll with it! For example, if you really want a hairdressing apprenticeship, you may need to take a casual sales assistant job. Maybe you could do some volunteering while you keep searching for the apprenticeship. Or, you may decide to do some additional training. Likewise, if you want to be a carpenter, you might enrol in a pre-apprenticeship course. It could give you an advantage when looking for an apprenticeship.

A few tips for scoring a job

Getting a job can be pretty hard at the best of times. Chances are we’ll see greater competition for jobs and fewer jobs will be advertised.  Sorry guys, that’s just the way it is right now BUT keep trying, there will awesome jobs out there for people just like you.

We’ve found some interesting stats from the Labour Market Information Portal. It’s about finding a pathway to your dream job post COVID-19 times. You’ll notice how important ‘word of mouth’ is for hiring staff.

These are the ways that Australian employers use when they hire staff*.

There are lots of ways employers look to hire new staff. To improve your chances of scoring a job you’ll need to use as many ways as possible.

Source: Labour Market Insights, 2021

Search advertised vacancies on a regular basis

Every day, new jobs will be advertised in one form or other, so it’s a matter of keeping an eye out and being ready to pounce. Here’s a few places to search:

  • Check online recruitment websites frequently, as these will always be used by employers. Try the Jobs board list on Job Jump Start.
  • Check the websites of large employers. Many of these will only advertise jobs on their company website.
  • Check social media (i.e. Jobs groups on Facebook, Jobs on LinkedIn).
  • Check other job search websites like: Seek, Indeed, Gumtree Jobs, Jora, and the Student Job Board.
  • Keep your eye on the job vacancies in the newspaper.

Explore apprenticeship and traineeship options

For certain jobs, there are apprenticeships and traineeships available (and guess what – they can lead to an awesome career!). So again, it’s a matter of keeping an eye out, and being ready to respond. Here’s a few places to try:

1. Contact your local Apprenticeship Network Provider:

2. Register with group training organisations. These organisations hire apprentices and trainees and place them with host employers:

3. Check online recruitment websites, social media, as well as websites of large companies.

*Recruitment methods | Labour Market Insights

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